Review SM022: Beware of Shovels!!!

[Playerking]

Some highlight from tge episode:

Spoiler

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I know Mamane is supposed to be short, but this is ridiculous.
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Lilie is 80s anime.
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Alolan Satoshi!
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How is that Iwanko's fault? Satoshi ordered it to use Rock Throw.

No. It was extremely stupid and everyone knows it.

Because Rockruff aimed it at the shovel and no it isn't, because Ash wasn't to know that Sandygast would evolve and swallow him, that's a fact.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Because Rockruff aimed it at the shovel and no it isn't, because Ash wasn't to know that Sandygast would evolve and swallow him, that's a fact.

Putting a living-breathing thing's life in danger by using him as replacement for an item that curses people is either stupidity or malevolence.

 

[Playerking]

Putting a living-breathing thing's life in danger by using him as replacement for an item that curses people is either stupidity or malevolence.

I doubt he was going to keep the Rotom Pokedex there like that forever and he was only trying to calm down the Sandygast until they found the shovel.

 

[Cresselia92]

Putting a living-breathing thing's life in danger by using him as replacement for an item that curses people is either stupidity or malevolence.

Well, it's not like Rotom couldn't have just exited from the Pokedex if things became too hairy.

Though, we would have to ask ourselves why it didn't leave the Pokedex when the Palossand was draining its energy…

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Well, it's not like Rotom couldn't have just exited from the Pokedex if things became too hairy.

Could he? His mind is connected to the Pokedex.

I doubt he was going to keep the Rotom Pokedex there like that forever

Temporarily endangaring someone is not better.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Could he? His mind is connected to the Pokedex.

Temporarily endangaring someone is not better.

Seeing as Rotom can change it's form at its leisure, it can remove itself fairly easily.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Seeing as Rotom can change it's form at its leisure, it can remove itself fairly easily.

Then why didn't he done that before?

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Then why didn't he done that?

Maybe this particular Rotom loves the Pokédex? Humans feel attached to their electronics without being physically bonded with them. Imagine the attachment with a creature which revolves entirely around appliances.

 

[Playerking]

Also, Ash put Rotom Pokedex on top of the Sandygast, and it wasn't in any real danger, unless Sandygast decided to attack it, until it evolved, which no one there expected to have happened.

 

[Islander Princess]

The premise for this episode was...odd. Truthfully I think I would've preferred to see Ash getting possessed, as overdone as that might be, solely because him being trapped inside a Pokémon for nearly an entire episode was just super weird.

What I did like, however, was that this particular scenario really gave the classmates time to shine. It was nice to see all of them helping out and working together. Their personalities mesh so well. I do have to give the writers credit for this, because this group right now is really working. The stationary setting has helped these characters out tremendously, and as someone who is always invested in the human characters, I really appreciate it.

Fire fang's animation also looks fantastic! I have yet to watch last week's episode, so this was the first time I really got to see it, and it looked amazing.

I laughed so hard at poor little possessed Kiawe. He just kept collecting sand for hours on end I also loved when Popplio was trying to bubble the shovel, and a bunch of different Pokémon just kept getting in the way. This was an instance where the humor of this series is handled so well: we only actually see two instances of this happening. But after the first one, when we go back underwater, you just in the background see a small collection of bubbled and confused water types before Corsola pops the next attempt. I laughed out loud when I saw that in the background because it's subtle and not just thrown right in your face. I loved that detail.

 

[Syrinaris]

This episode was an interesting study in Murphy's Law. From Ash telling Rockruff to attack Sandygast, which resulted in the shovel being knocked off it's head. To Roto saying that you can replace the lost shovel with any object and Ash being an idiot and putting Roto's life in danger by choosing Roto itself to be the replacement object. To Ash having done that, which did not appease Sandygast at all, so it became angry enough to evolve just so it could exact retribution on Ash by swallowing him. To poor Litten, trying to save Rockruff from being swallowed, only for Litten to end up having its life force, and also Roto's, drained away due to Pallosand's anger. To poor Popplio trying it's best to put the found shovel in a bubble and every freaking aquatic pokemon that lives in the ocean getting in its way, lol. (those faces that Pika & Popplio were making were priceless)

I mean, cripes, this was just Murphy's Law from one end to the other. And then at the tail end of the show, Pallosand shows back up to swallow Kukui's house with everyone still inside. This was a really weird episode. Enjoyable, to be sure, but still really weird. Oy....

The next time you see a shovel zooming around in the sand like that, Ash, just save everyone some grief and gather everybody up and run away from it as fast as you can.

 

[Dogasu]

Honestly the only thing even the tiniest bit interesting about this episode was them using that remix of that Lugia action scene music from the Hoopa movie in the second half . I expected way more comedy from this one.